Opinion: An NCAA Hit Job?

Columnist Bill McGurn on whether the NCAA's sanctions against Penn State's football program are fair. Photos: Associated Press

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... once you see ... me ... read this damage ... inflicted by Jerry Sandusky on his victims ... however we can make clear ... that the culture actions and interactions ... allow them to be victimized ... will not be tolerated ... in collegiate athletics ... did the NCAA come down too hard on Penn State also won a ... moral liberals ... talking about gun control in the wake of the Colorado ... shootings welcome to Opinion Journal Live ... on Jason Riley the NCAA sanctions ... handed down against Penn State and wake of the sex abuse ... scandal including sixty million dollars fine in a four year ban ... from playing in postseason games but some say these alleys ... go too far and ... joining me to talk about it ... as columnist Bill McGurn welcome to Digits and ... so Bill the headline of your column today is the NCAA fumbles ... the Penn State case but also why would you say the penalties are too large ... I think my my perspective is if the NCAA is the Q are ... you get a bigger problem than we started with a bouquet can outsource your integrity to announce the outside institution I think that's with this that ... aam ... the NCAA has a reputation of being a toothless my body it ... or they overcompensate and I think what they rushed and as far as I know there's been no allegation ... that with Penn State did violated any NCAA bylaw let's go back to what happened ... an assistant coach ... was molesting young boys taking share even the janitor knew this was true right ... you know I headed out that was wrong ... we know that Joe paternal to what he did what he didn't do ... was the graves dereliction of duty ... and now we have all these things were were going back and changing records and ... punishing players that were yummy the eight years old at the time it just seems to me ... this is what you do ... when you're unwilling to exert the leadership ... to really solve the problems ... the former FBI director Louis Freeh who issued this report is a pretty respected but figured AAA among ... conservative supporting his report ... there was quote a total one inconsistent ... disregard by the most senior leaders ... at Penn State for the safety and welfare ... of Jerry Sandusky style that doesn't mean ... did the NCAA at least half to send a message here that ... in the future is in honor of the athletic program ... of of tries to sweep under the rug something as egregious of this in hopes of ... preserving their reputation or money or are they both ... did I mean do they have but let's look that would look what happened turns accountability ... with the head of the board trustees resigning in disgrace ... the president of the University resigning in disgrace ... a coach who is whom ... had any NCAA just me ... two years ago said ... embodied all with ideas the deal's fired at the end of his life ... his reputation in tatters ... I think I belive have to answer some questions about his grand jury testimony ... two other officials ... who may be charged with perjury that one is charged with perjury ... and Jerry Sandusky in jail for the rest of his life in the school going to pay out ... tens of millions of dollars ... on ... to these victims as they rightly should one may sue ... to the idea that the lessee NCA intercede is the belief that ... the US is to think of it they're taking sixty million dollars in debt to spin the sun awareness programs in sensitivity course isn't all sorts of things ... that was not the common currency people knew ... that what was going on was wrong ... the people fail to exercise leadership ... I don't think this fixes anything ... it was very telling to me that the present the ex president of ... the of the day said everything he did ... Visa V the board of trustees was in compliance with what the general counsel advised that I think that's probably absolutely true and and my suspicion is that is the indictment of the Coulter ... though we of a compliance culture ... not a leadership culture one point I think it's a good point for people who are skeptical of of this on ... this decision are the Red Sea and ... it is as their skepticism of the credibility ... of the NCAA to make this decision other words ... the NCAA has ... a ... reputation working ... with athletic bankers to undermine trust these men they think that trustees might interfere with revenue or the Department of Employment departments in any way ... so that they would now turn around and and issue fines against a battle ... for you know for lack of trustee oversight we're going ahead in the Lisle are granted compliance officers in Europe ... more bureaucracy ... what you want from the leader will we thought Joe paternal was was not ... was a leader we saw something wrong would take the action itself instead of pants the box open I don't think it's can be fixed by the NCAA ...